


The Devil Went Down to Los Angeles

by Tezca



Category: Adam Ruins Everything (TV)
Genre: AU, Established Relationship, Gen, Humor, Rhea being savage, alternative universe, background Adam/Emily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-25 14:04:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18575986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tezca/pseuds/Tezca
Summary: ....looking for a soul to steal. He just didn't count on one Rhea Conover.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Aedriane for beta'ing and help rewriting parts of the fic!

Emily's world was never going to be the same after meeting Adam for the first time - in more ways than one. She had known that for a while now, and truly believed that nothing could faze her anymore. Oh, how wrong she had been.

Before her stood Adam's sister, Rhea, but... She was still definitively Rhea, of course, but the deep crimson of her skin and the curled horns growing from her forehead were not part of her usual look. Light reflected off of her jet-black hair and nails as she glanced down at the tail she was trying to hold onto - her  _ own _ tail.

Emily's mind screamed one word: Demon. But Rhea wasn't a _demon_. Was she? Sure, she had a tough demeanor, sometimes, but Emily knew for sure her sister-in-law was nothing but caring and supportive. Did this mean Hell existed? Heaven, too? Confused, she turned to look at Adam, who had been next to her the whole time, also taking in the sight of Rhea's new look.

His look, rather than one of worry or concern, was of pure intrigue. It did annoy her, but then again, this  _ was _ Adam.

“Rhea-” Adam began gently, leaning forward a bit from his place on the sofa. 

He got the vibe Rhea was nervous over how they’ll react. Anyone would if they were in her spot. Well, maybe most people, objectively. He would wager there were those that wouldn’t give a shit what other people thought over this.

‘-you’re still my sis, no matter what. I just would like to know what happened. I mean, if I know you well, you weren’t exactly eager to become a demon,” Adam chuckled lightly.

That got a soft chuckle out of Rhea. She looked up at him, her shoulders more relaxed now. 

“Yeah, I wasn’t. I just...I don’t want mom and dad to know. Or any of our family,” Rhea prefaced, still feeling a little nervous.

Their parents and most of their extended family were more religious compared to them. At the least, their parents won’t really give a shit, but Adam understood Rhea’s apprehensiveness.

She wanted to explain, Adam and Emily deserved that. She just didn’t want the story to leave the room. Ever.

“And they won’t, if that’s what you want.”

“Yeah. You can definitely trust us, Rhea,” Emily added with a friendly smile. She wouldn’t do anything in a million years to betray her.

“Thanks. I don’t even know where to start, it just happened all so fast, in a manner of speaking.”

“Oh hmm, I assume you went to that creepy novelty place that used to be a cupcake shop right?”

“Yeah. I think you mentioned that at the last family dinner. I only went in there to avoid an overly chatty co-worker,” Rhea let out a casual sigh.

That was a good of a place to start as any.

________________________________

 

Operation avoidance of small talk with an annoying co-worker was a success. Out of the blue, said colleague had turned onto the corner walking towards her direction. Rhea really wasn’t in the mood to get sucked into a half-hour long conversation about something insipid like trashy supermarket romance novels. 

The bell dinged as she quickly ran inside and leaned up against the door. She let out a sigh of relief. Her shoulders and back slumped in relief as she took in her surroundings. Lots of creepy oddities in here. It reminded her of Halloween. This wasn’t a store she’d normally enter, but it served a purpose for right now. She can deal with waiting ten minutes in a tacky more touristy store. 

She put her hands in her pockets as she noticed a fake human skull to her right. The ambiance was definitely meant to ensure a scary, grim atmosphere. The lights were dim enough to add to the spooky, Halloween vibe. Frankly whoever runs this place might be trying a bit hard. That might’ve been the point though, play up cliches and stereotypes for the masses who visit L.A.

She walked deeper into the store as she aimlessly looked around. There were admittedly fun little toys on the shelf. Nothing she would ever buy, but hey its cool if other people are into this sort of thing. After a minute and a half, she heard footsteps coming from behind her. She turned around just in time to see a man enter the area pass the cashier desk. 

He had shoulder length black hair and a face with sharp lines that accentuated his cheeks. Rhea guessed he had to be no more than 50 at least. 

“Hello and welcome to Mr. Luther’s Oddities!” The man dramatically said with a flourishing wave.

Rhea had to give him an A in effort in making his voice sound ominous. 

“And today is your lucky day!”

Rhea easily dismissed whatever prize there, “Oh, you can just give whatever free thing or coupon to the next customer. It’s fine.”

“Oh no, I’m afraid we do things differently here Ms..um...sorry what’s your name?”

Rhea crossed her arms, might as well humor the guy. She had nothing better to do for the rest of the day. 

“Rhea Conover.”

“Huh...that last name sounds oddly familiar,” He muttered to himself absentmindedly. Momentarily lost in thought.

He dismissed it with a wave of his hand a second later, “Anyways doesn’t matter. What matters here Ms. Conover, is that you understand that your soul is now at stake unless you pass my little challenges!”

Rhea rolled her eyes, “If you’re seriously trying to do some stupid act that’s clearly meant for kids-.”

“Oh, but I can assure you it’s not an act,” The man gave a sinister smile “Maybe this will convince you!” 

The man waved his hand and in a cloud of ash-colored smoke billowed in front of him. Suddenly he looked more of the demonic variety. For some odd reason, Rhea wasn’t too unfazed. As if she almost expected this to happen. Perhaps growing up with a magical brother had something to do with it. That and the fact Adam had transformed himself into a demon for Halloween once or twice before. 

If anything she was a little more than slightly surprised at someone else displaying some kind of magic. Still, it wasn’t enough to show through her demeanor. Or if it did then it went unnoticed. He continued.

“Behold for I am the Devil! The Prince of Darkness himself! The incarnate-”

“Alright I get it, you’re obviously Satan,” Rhea merely responded nonchalantly, if not a bit annoyed.

Satan’s expression turned from maniacal to just plain flummoxed. He was definitely expecting more of a reaction from her. It was the first time in a long while his usual routine felt derailed and his pride took a hit. Damn that kid in Georgia.

“Wh-what!? What kind of response is that?! You're supposed to cower in fear and terror! I’m the guy that steal people’s souls,” Satan shriek in a ironic high pitched voice.

“I do know, I went to church as a kid enough times. I’m just not that religious enough to be ‘saying my prayers’ as you expect me too,” Rhea calmly shot back.

“Not saying any prayers doesn’t stop this from being any more real you know,” He pointed out, “You should really be afraid for your soul if you don’t pass, Rhea.”

Good thing she had her phone with her. If things start to really go south, she can just text her brother. She didn’t know whether or not if Satan knew about him having magic or not. Her gut banked on he most likely didn’t. 

Of course, unless Adam ran into him. She wouldn’t know since she hasn’t caught up on the latest episodes of his show. However, she does now remember Adam describing a place that sounded like this recently. Could’ve been a different place though. She didn’t really care, but it would make sense.

Rhea put her hands onto her hips. It was pretty clear to her she’ll have to actually do his stupid challenges. She really didn’t have time for this. On the other hand, there was no getting out with a being like the Devil. She’ll have to be an idiot not to realize that. Standard stuff she supposed with him.

“So if I pass I keep my soul?” Rhea questioned.

“Yes. If you don’t, you’ll forfeit your soul to me for all eternity!”

Satan laughed while Rhea sighed and rolled her eyes. She wasn’t cocky or trying to be arrogant. She just knew she had a trick up her sleeve. She formulated a vague plan while Satan was busy hamming it up. 

“Alright fine, so what do I have to do? Fight some demonic monster?” Rhea asked with a little exasperation.

She wanted to get this whole deal over with.

Satan stopped and felt satisfied enough with her answer, “Well normally yes, but I decided to do things differently this time.”

He stepped closer into her face, his voice going up and down for emphasis.

“You will face a series of three challenges based on the 7 Deadly Sins!” He paused for a second then lowered his voice, “You do know what those are right?”

She nodded, “Yes I do.”

He felt relieved over that, “Oh good. You won’t believe how many people who barely had any clue what they are or have completely forgotten!” He finished before he picked up his original train of thought.

“Moving on, the three deadly sins would be picked randomly. It’s up to you to identify which one and not to succumb to it before you make it to the exit. I will be waiting there.”

Rhea thought on it for a second before she softly nodded. She could work her - still vague - plan into this. Depends obviously but still.

“Alright I agree with those terms I guess. Don’t really have a choice.”

Satan looked at her with a bit of a confused yet put upon look, “You know, usually people at this point would try and bargain the terms in their favor.”

Rhea crossed her arms and shrugged, “Sorry…”

Satan groaned under his breath, “Let’s just get this started.”

A cloud of smoke later and Rhea noticed they were in another building. One filled with music, lights and lots of people. Lots of scantily clad people. And they all surrounded them. Never had Rhea seen so many bare skins at close proximity before. Well, except at a beach. Actually, scratch that, this was much closer than at the beach. This place was jammed packed. Full of men and women who didn’t appear to notice two newcomers.

Rhea looked around before she noticed her clothes had changed. Her shirt had been replaced with a strapless halter top and her jeans were swapped for something tighter. 

Now it was Rhea’s turn to groan as she glared at him, already feeling increased annoyance. 

“Really!?”

“Don’t worry you’ll get your clothes back at the end. This is part of this challenge. Oh speaking of before I completely forget, each one will be tailored to your specific desires.”

Rhea took another glance around, “Well, that explains both genders being present here. This is lust obviously.”

“Correct! You’ll have 30 minutes to find me, Ms. Conover!”

With an evil laugh, Satan teleported himself into thin air. Now Rhea was by herself. She wondered briefly if this was all an illusion or an actual nightclub. She decided it didn’t matter too much either way. Plus thinking about it would take up precious time. She looked around to find a good enough opening. Her plan of attack was to find the bar area. Usually there would be relatively fewer people there. 

Thus easier to see which way the exit was at.

Rhea took a deep breath of confidence before she started to squeeze through the sea of people. To give Satan some credit, one or two random people did catch her eye. If only for a split second. Unfortunately for him, her desire and determination to pass won over by a large margin.

She pushed and shoved her way through until she finally got to the end of the dance floor. As guessed, there was a bar area in front of her. And the crowd was gratefully thinner here. She could easily spot the exit and Satan not too far to the side. He was still in his true form so perhaps this was all just an illusion. Had to be. She can’t fathom why there wouldn’t be any panic and screaming at the sight of a horned beast otherwise. Unless she was the only one that can see him.

She figured she can take a safe minute or two to collect herself. Take a bit of a breather before she made her way towards the exit. It was one of the Devil’s challenges so she should expect any surprise obstacles. She had to be alert and smart about this. 


	2. Chapter 2

And right as she took a step forward, a tall guy came swooping up and blocked her path. Yep there it was. From a casual glance, he had the most stereotypically ripped body she’s seen in a while. Toned six pack abs and strong muscles. Already she wasn’t impressed as she looked over the nearly naked man. Jesus how tight can his shorts get down there. 

Point being, he was to Hollywood attractive for her. The frat boy/jock vibe didn’t help either. Two negative points for the Devil in such a short span of time. Well, there goes Satan’s claims of tailoring it all to her deepest desires. At least with the minor details. He did get the preferred genders part right. 

“Hey, haven’t seen such a pretty angel such as yourself here before. Let me guess you fell from heaven?” He smiled flirtatiously, obviously trying too hard.

Ugh. 

“Did anyone ever tell you pick up lines like that don’t usually work on others?” Rhea tried to keep her voice helpful.

She wanted to play it safe on the off chance this was an actual place. There was an equal good chance it was all an illusion. Conjured up by Satan which she wouldn’t put it past him. She was just annoyed to the point that she had to make a conscious effort to keep a polite demeanor.

Another thing to note, she had to tell Adam basically the same thing when he entered the dating scene. Though to be fair, with him it was more out of naiveness and genuinely sincerity. 

“No but I can tell you it worked countless times before,” The man smoothly replied, “You’re Rhea right? I always thought that was a pretty name. I’m Sergio from high school.”

Hold up what? She doesn’t remember knowing a Sergio in high school barring any classmate acquaintances. A part of her had started to wonder if this was more of an illusion. Even her gut was beginning to lean more in that direction. She wanted to go a little further though to get an definite confirmation.

“I uhh….I...what class were you in?” Rhea awkwardly asked.

“I was two years above you. I do believe I was that foreign exchange student you had a crush on,” He finished with suave confident.

Rhea stood there for a second as something clicked in her mind. In all of her recollections of high school, there was no point whatsofuckingever where this was remotely true. Yes there was foreign exchange students, but she didn’t have a crush on anyone named Sergio.

In fact, the only vivid memory she had of a kid with that name was born in Bumfuck, Nebraska. And she gotten into a fight with him once that resulted in lunch detention. That kid probably deserved it. Admittedly she can’t remember how she’d gotten into the fight now but it was probably justified. She doesn’t go around picking fights just to pick them. He probably insulted Adam one too many that day or something.

That cinched it. This was all an illusion and Satan is a straight up idiot. 

Rhea momentarily paused before she abruptly punched the guy out of the way. With a pathway clear, she made her way to where Satan was clearly chilling out. Meanwhile, Satan had just witnessed her recent actions. He sure as hell definitely wasn’t expecting that. 

“Tailored to my deepest desires my ass!” Rhea shot out as soon as she was within earshot, “If what you claimed was true then you would fucking know I don’t prefer the movie version of what makes someone attractive!”

“So?! Who cares if I don’t get  _ everything _ right...” Satan defensively said, “People normally don’t think too hard with this kind of stuff. Not when their soul is at stake! They are too busy being worried to not care about any of the little details!”

“I see. Excuse me for thinking you hadn’t become lazy at your job,” Rhea bit back with a sarcastic eye roll.

Satan felt somewhat offended at that. Perhaps what she said had some truth. A good amount of society as a whole had become more agnostic/secular than in decades past. He was more apt to have someone not believe he was the Devil right off the bat nowadays than say in the 17th century. 

But that doesn’t mean he won’t deny it.

He jabbed a finger in Rhea’s direction for emphasis, “Listen I’ve been doing this since the dawn of time! I am the King of Hell! You don’t be King of anything for millienia unless you know what you’re doing inside and out missy!”

Missy?? Missy?!? 

Rhea shot him a severe glare. One that would tell anyone on the receiving end that they just fucked up. Even braindead idiots would get the memo under her withering gaze. Rhea got close up in his face.

“Call me ‘missy’ again and I’ll  _ rip _ your fucking horns out!” 

Satan actually took a step back at the sharpness of her voice. Been a while since he ran into someone that had the guts to talk back at him like that. And with enough conviction to make him believe they’ll actually do whatever bodily harm they threatened him with. Most of the time it was talk and no walk. 

Silence passed for a few seconds. 

Satan cleared his throat awkwardly before he looked at his watch.

“Uhh...err...congratulations you passed! And around 20 minutes to spare. Can’t say I ain’t impressed but we’ll see how strong your will is on the next challenge!” Satan declared in a foreboding voice. 

Another poof and Rhea found herself in a grand dining room. The room was modest yet fancy. Bright colored walls in between windows overseeing a pristine blue ocean. She knew it wasn’t real so she didn’t really care where they were. Or where this was based off of. 

An ornate Persian rug was laid on top of a wooden floor. And on top of that, was a long table in front of her. Lots of different foods filled out every possible space on the table. Meats, soups and breads among various other kinds of foods. She even spotted a New York City style pizza towards the end of the table. 

Before she said anything, she looked down at herself. So Satan kept his word regarding her clothes. That was good. He saved himself a fist sandwich if she was truly honest with herself. 

“Well any idiot can tell the theme is gluttony,” Rhea commented as she took a few steps forward to the table. 

The table was long enough to hold a big family for some feast. Like Thanksgiving at the Conover’s household when she was a kid. The Devil followed her casually behind.

“This isn’t exactly subtle. See I would’ve started off with something like being invited to a buffet with some….I don’t know...illusions of your friends. Test them on how many plates of food they get,” Rhea bluntly suggested.

Satan went on the defensive. He rolled his eyes, “Yeah well they can’t all be winners. This was the best I can do on short notice, alright? You’ll be judged on how many food you put on a plate. You have 15 minutes!”

“Alright, reasonable enough I guess,” Rhea commented as she casually grabbed a plate.

From a casual glance, most of the food looked like those she would eat. A perfectly cooked tenderloin, a delicious cheese hamburger and some she didn’t recognize. Those looked appetizing all the same though. Rhea felt inclined to take a sweet roll and a small piece of steak. Not enough to worry by anyone’s standards.

However, things started to look wonky on closer inspection. Sandwiches slathered with peanut butter and topped with sardines. A big bowl of bologna trail mix. Even the pizza turned out to be an abomination to mankind. According to her at least. It was topped with not only anchovies, but pineapple as well.

These were all foods her brother was more liable to eat. How the hell can her will and character be tested if Satan can’t get these details right.

“And this is all supposed to be custom made to my desires?”

“That’s the idea!” Satan cackled loudly.

Rhea didn’t take too long to ruin his moment.

“Well, for one thing, there will be no bias in favor of those being tested if you actually got their fucking preferences right! I mean seriously?! Half of these foods are shit my brother would eat!” Rhea yelled as she gestured to the second half of the table, “What in the everloving hell made you think I would eat a fucking sardine and peanut butter sandwich?”

“Oh don’t try and lie to the Devil himself Rhea! I can see right through them! You like those...weird foods!”

Rhea rolled her eyes as she gave him a look. Satan was lazier at his job than she expected him to be. Adam could give her a run for her money in comparison. Hell, she would be able to give herself more of a challenge just based on what she’d seen already.

“No I fucking don’t! It’s like you didn’t even do any research into the person that’s about to be damned.”

“I’m supposed to do research?! I don’t need to do any research, why would I?” Satan asked, mildly incredulously, “I’m the literal incarnate of darkness!”

“Personally I would. I would also see what other factors in that person life I can use to my advantage,” Rhea suggested in an more casual tone.

Rhea had set the plate back on the table and walked closer.

“Which one of us is Satan here? I can do these challenges however the hell I want! I can change them on a whim even and make you swim across a lake full of boiling lava!”

“And it’ll be a half-assed illusion from what I’ve seen so far,” Rhea sarcastically quipped, “Excuse me for thinking the Devil’s magic would be top-notched.”

“Oh and you’ve seen magic before?” Satan rolled his eyes. “Somehow I highly doubt that. You’re just a human who was born in Long Island.”

Time to drop the truthbomb on him.

“Actually…” Rhea said, mimicking the smug, cheery tone her brother would use, “I have. Grown up around it my whole life.”

“....What!? You’re telling me a human has magic? How?!” 

“That I can’t answer. If you watch Adam Ruins Everything then you’ll know who it is.”

Satan was quiet as everything became clear. It only took a few seconds for his mind to process everything. No wonder her last name sounded familiar! He’d met someone named Adam Conover before now that she mentioned it. Wasn’t he able to teleport in and out of his shop? He can still vividly remember enough of that encounter, unfortunately.

“That annoying know it all prick is your  _ brother _ ?!

“Yep,” Rhea cooly said. 

“I-I...you know what screw this!” Satan exclaimed as he teleported them back to the shop.

Right now he was feeling about done with both of the Conover siblings. In fact he didn’t really want Rhea’s soul either. He just wanted to get out of Los Angeles and never come back.

_____________________________

 

“....he ranted a bit more before he made me in charge of Hell for Los Angeles and the areas around it,” Rhea finished explaining.

Somewhere during her story, Rhea had walked over and sat down next to Adam. She took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to him.

“He said everything I need to know is on there. Then he poofed the store abandoned and me...well like this.”

Adam opened up the paper and read it carefully. Emily leaned over to take a look herself. There wasn’t much written on there, seemed like it was just the basics. Nothing was heard except for the paper as Adam read each line.

“I didn’t even ask for this,” Rhea said wearily as she kept her gaze forward.

If she knew exactly how to poof herself back to normal, she would’ve already done it.

“If it’s any consolation you look pretty badass as a demon Rhea,” Emily said with a light chuckle.

Rhea reciprocated the chuckle, “Thanks, but being a demon isn’t for me. I reckon it isn’t for any of us in this room.”

Emily nodded.

“Yeah,” Adam confidently agreed, momentarily distracted. 

He gave the paper another look over before he magically sent the paper up in flames. The rules listed pretty much said that his sister had to spread chaos and destruction. Even try to entice innocent people to the temptation of the dark side. He supposed someone with a protective nature like Rhea could run it like a prison and she’s the warden. 

But it all came down to the individual.

“I definitely don’t think you’re the type to spread chaos and inflict pain on innocents Rhea.”

She shook her head, “I’m sure as hell not. Could you make me...human again?” Rhea asked.

She figure that would be the better word than normal. That word just felt wrong in a way. It always has in this type of context. And plus, she didn’t want to accidentally imply Adam is not normal cause of what he was able to do just now.

“I’ll be happy too!” Adam smiled as he snapped his fingers.

Rhea immediately looked down at her arms and hands. Her skin was back to their usual tone. A sense of relief overwhelmed her and she leaned back. A weight she wasn’t aware of have been lifted. The whole ordeal can now be best put in the past.

“Wait, how do we know the Devil won’t come back? What if he decides to check on how Rhea’s doing?”

Adam thought on it for a second. That was a good point brought up. Without any warning, he suddenly teleported himself out of the room. The sudden event left her staring in the void left behind. Then at Rhea after a second passed.

Emily had a good feeling where he might’ve gone. She was still somewhat confused though. However, Rhea’s relaxed demeanor denoted perhaps she shouldn’t worry too much about it. Like he had done this before. Probably had if she had to logically take a guess.

“I have a feeling he’s having a “nice chat” with the Devil right now,” Rhea casually explained as she looked up aimlessly.

About ten minutes later, Adam materialized in front of them. A big happy, but knowing grin was plastered on his face. The girls turned their attention to the bespeckled know it all.

“Good news, we all don’t have to worry about the Devil ever again!”


End file.
